bitter bird

2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/8 oz Demerara Syrup
1 dash Saline (3 drop 20%)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass, and garnish with orange oil from a twist. Two Saturdays ago, I turned to online recipe flashcards for Eastern Standard in Boston, and I selected the Bitter Bird from the Spring 2026 menu. The restaurant's menu from March has it in the "Old Fashioned: Everything New is Old Again" section, and their Instagram reel has bartender Julian Bernal describing it as his creation from 2013 before he was working at there and how his drink lands somewhere between a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned. Overall, the combination comes across like the Papa Was a Rodeo with rye and no bitters or the Water Line without aquavit. Once built, the Bitter Bird flew to the nose with orange, rye, and herbal aromas. Next, caramel with hints of orange on the sip swooped before alighting on rye and herbal-orange flavors on the swallow.

jack & bone

1 1/2 oz Jamaican Dark Rum (1 oz Coruba + 1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lime wedge (lime wheel). Two Thursdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Jack & Bone by Oska Whitehart at Melbourne's The Everleigh circa 2016 in the book's Daiquiri section. It reminded me of the Artichoke Hold minus the elderflower liqueur and the Navy Dock Daiquiri with orgeat instead of nutty Maraschino liqueur, so I was game to give it a whirl. In the glass, the Jack & Bone welcomed the nose with a lime, caramel, and pineapple-tinged rum funk aroma. Next, a creamy lime and caramel sip developed into funky rum, herbal, and almond flavors on the swallow.

coffee and cigarettes

1/2 oz Mezcal (Convite)
1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Ardbeg 10 Year)
1/2 oz Demerara Rum (Hamilton 86°)
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I looked to Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Coffee and Cigarettes by user Applejack from Chicago in 2015, and it was different from the Coffee and Cigarettes I wrote about a few years ago from Chad Austin. This split-base drink features coffee liqueur and Cynar as the modifiers that I gained an appreciation for in a few drinks like the Lake Union and Palisades and utilized in my Why Don't You Do Right. Once prepared, the Coffee and Cigarettes initiated things with a lemon, peat smoke, coffee, and herbal bouquet. Next, caramel and roast notes on the sip percolated into smoky, coffee, caramel, herbal, and vegetal flavors on the swallow.

kingston negroni (toby maloney)

1 3/4 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist and a lemon twist. Two Thursdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted in Toby Maloney and Emma Janzen's The Classic Cocktail Sessions book that was Toby's take on the Kingston Negroni which appeared in the book's Negroni variation section. To Joaquin Simó's tropical Negroni riff, Toby described, "I up the amount of booze (of course) and then lean into the dark brooding funky flavors of the Jamaican rum by plumping up the Campari with some of the artichoke-based Cynar." Toby's recipe joins the other Kingston Negroni riffs that I have made such as Paul McGee and Shelby Allison's Pineapple Kingston Negroni that included pineapple rum in with the Jamaican rum and Death & Co.'s Improved Kingston Negroni that swapped the vermouth and amaro to Punt e Mes and Zucca. This one is in the middle utilizing the pineapple rum split from the former and a change in bitter liqueurs from the latter. Once prepared, Toby's Kingston Negroni gave forth an orange, lemon, pineapple, and rum funk bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip delved into funky rum, pineapple, bitter orange, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

savannah slammer

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Peach (Mathilde Peche Liqueur)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 splash Steen's Syrup (1/8+ oz Demerara)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated cinnamon. Two Fridays prior, I decided to make the Savannah Slammer created at Good Company in St. Louis from their Spring 2025 menu that I had uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. This drink that still resides on their current menu reads like a Georgia Julep crossed with a Cynar Julep in a mint as a garnish-only Smash. Once assembled, the Savannah Slammer awoke the senses with a mint and cinnamon aromas over peach. Next, lemon with a vague orchard fruit note on the sip blossomed into Bourbon, peach, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

rest in pieces of eight

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
>1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/4 oz Licor 43
>1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake one round without ice and one round with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with ice (double old fashioned with a large ice cube) pre-rinsed with Cruzan Black Strap Rum. After making a fresh batch of ginger syrup, I perused Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Rest in Pieces of Eight by Doug Monroe at Nashville's The Patterson House that he entered into the database in 2012. The name seems to be a play on the pirate phrases "rest in peace" and "pieces of eight." Given that aspect, I expected some overlap with the tropical classic Pieces of Eight, but there was only rum and lemon in common. Once mixed, the Rest in Pieces of Eight put forth a molasses aroma from the black strap rum rinse. Next, a creamy caramel and lemon sip subsided into funky rum, funky herbal, ginger, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

electric circus

1 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray Stiggins' Fancy)
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/2 oz Cynar
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. After spotting a rye drink on a menu that had Cynar and Montenegro as modifiers, I realized that it was similar to what I enjoyed in the Tio Amargo with Demerara rum. I was inspired to swap the base to a split of mezcal and pineapple rum which I discovered in the Hunter Thompson and utilized a few times before such as in the Cannibal Cove last Fall. For a name, I dubbed this one the Electric Circus after the 1960s New York City nightclub with a variety of performers often associated with Andy Warhol that I read about in the St. Marks Is Dead book. From 1967 to 1971, the Electric Circus incorporated the big top aspect with everything from jugglers, mimes, trapeze artists, and body painting, and added in other performances like psychadelic multi-projector audiovisual shows and bands like The Velvet Underground, The Grateful Dead, and Sly & the Family Stone. One quote about the establishment caught my curiosity with, "Like Woodstock, if you remembered much of what happened at the E.C., you weren't really there." In the glass, the Electric Circus sprang forth with an orange, tropical, and smoke aroma. Next, a caramel-driven sip evolved into rum, pineapple, tangerine, vegetal, smoke, and clove flavors on the swallow.

trophy room

3/4 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Maison Rouge Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Sundays ago, I returned to online recipe flashcard set for Club 33, the New Orleans-themed restaurant at Disneyland in Anaheim, and came upon the Trophy Room. The recipe reminded me of the Physically Forgotten which is the gin version in the same ratio but with different bitters. I was able to find a Yelp menu photo from 2022 that had the description, "Tucked away among the magic of New Orleans' Square, a secluded room once played host to all manner of festivities and celebrations, with walls adorned with talking beasts and treasures from exotic far off lands." The description made me think of Muriel in New Orleans where Andrea and I attended an absinthe soirée towards the end of Tales of the Cocktail 2009 (see photo below). Once mixed, the Trophy Room donated an orange and nutty cherry bouquet to the nose. Next, a caramel-driven sip developed into Bourbon, Cognac, herbal, nutty cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow. The Maraschino came across as a little heavy handed here, so perhaps decreasing that amount could benefit the balance; surprisingly, I did not have a similar complaint a little over two years ago for the gin-based Physically Forgotten though.

long nights, hard times

1 oz Elijah Craig Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a cherry. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink that I found through online recipe flashcards called the Long Nights, Hard Times. The recipe was created at Per Diem in Lilitz, Pennsylvania, and GoogleMaps confirmed the ingredients via a menu photo. Moreover, the bar's Instagram attributed the drink to beverage manager Dan Zeiders, and he perhaps named this after a Piebald song lyric. While the combination of American whiskey, Cynar, and Maraschino made me think of the Bensonhurst, there were closer recipes that I have tried such as the combination with sweet vermouth in the Five Keys, with aquavit in the Divine Wind, and with gin in the Grand Street. In the glass, the Long Nights, Hard Times offered up a caramel, sherry, and herbal aroma to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip morphed into Bourbon, bitter herbal, and cherry flavors on the swallow.

soul wandering

3/4 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

After making the City to City the day before that was related to the Transmigration, I was inspired to turn the two-Scotch and two-rum drinks, respectively, into a Genever-gin one. Genever and gin have worked in everything from stirred drinks like the Precursor to tropical ones like the Modern Prometheus. Moreover, Genever has paired well with Cynar and coffee liqueur such as in the Wild Card and the Hard Times, respectively, so I figured that the combination had a good chance to click. For a name, I ended up on Soul Wandering to stick with the migration theme. Once prepared, the Soul Wandering opened up with an orange, malty, caramel-roast, and herbal aroma. Next, roast and grape notes on the sip shifted into malty, coffee, and herbal flavors on the swallow. A day or two later, my Instagram friend Tim Kirkland made this drink and wrote in his own post, "Bold, complex, rich. Genever lovers, listen up! As a huge Genever fan, I'm always looking for creative ways to showcase this amazing spirit. This cocktail checks all boxes. Offering hints of juniper, malt, a little cola, coffee, black grapes, orange peel, and a very slightly bitter/malt/coffee finish, the Genever was perfect in this. The gin/Genever combo worked well to bring out the bitter notes from the Cynar, while accentuating the rich coffee notes. The orange oils sort of brought everything together in a wonderful way."

city to city

3/4 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Islay Scoth (Ardbeg 10 Year)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Thursdays ago, the second drink I made was one that I found on my Instagram feed as posted by my friend Daniel Zajic called the City to City. The recipe was crafted by Tom Lasher-Walker at Fresh Kills in Brooklyn as a riff on Sasha Petraske's Migration and named after Gerry Rafferty's 1978 album. I learned of the Migration through Tom's other riff, the rum-based Transmigration, that also utilized the coffee element not found in Sasha's drink. Once prepared, City to City gave forth an orange, smoke, and coffee aroma. Next, roast, grape, and caramel notes on the sip traveled to smoky Scotch, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

iroc-z

1 1/2 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a highball glass with soda water (2 oz), add ice, and garnish with a piece of candied ginger. Continuing on with my backlog of recipes elongated with soda water, I decided to make the Iroc-Z from Attaboy two Wednesdays ago. This recipe that I found in online flashcards reminded me of the CIA crossed with a Buck. Once assembled, the Iroc-Z accelerated to the nose with an apple and ginger aroma. Next, a carbonated lime and caramel sip switched gears into an apple, ginger, and herbal swallow.

la chinesca

1 1/4 oz Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
3/8 oz Mezcal (Fosforo)
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spied La Chinesca in the Manhattan section. It was attributed to Paul Hammond and Priscilla Leong now of The Flowing Bowl Cocktail Company in Melbourne. The other drink that I made from that duo was the Nova Scotia as a Bourbon and Scotch Toronto with honey, and this one read like an agave Little Italy.  Perhaps, they named the drink after the Chinatown in Mexicali, the state capital of Baja California, which historically has contained the largest Chinese community in Mexico. The population arrived to the area to build irrigation systems and either came from the United States to flee a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment or directly from China, and the laborers stayed in the area after the project was completed. The city blossomed during American Prohibition where laborers and farmers moved into the city to open and staff bars, restaurants, casinos, and hotels to welcome thirsty folks from north of the border. In the glass, La Chinesca gave forth an orange, herbal, grape, and smoke aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip wandered into vegetal, bitter herbal, and smoke flavors on the swallow.

night nurse

1 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (Appleton 8 Year)
1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Overproof Jamaican Rum (Wray & Nephew)
1/4 oz Cynar
1 tsp Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1 tsp Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing my copy of the January/February 2026 issue of Imbibe Magazine when I spotted the Night Nurse by Robby Dow at Bespoke in Wilmington, North Carolina. Overall, it was akin to the Coffee Negroni with different rum origin plus touches of Cynar and banana liqueur. Once mixed, the Night Nurse gave forth an orange, banana, rum funk, and coffee aroma. Next, grape, caramel, and roast notes on the sip transferred into funky rum, herbal, coffee, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with a coffee and banana finish.

transmigration

3/4 oz Goslings Black Seal Rum
3/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Mondays ago, I selected my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion from the shelf and spotted the Transmigration by Tom Lasher-Walker at Brooklyn's Fresh Kills circa 2017 via the book's Manhattan section. Transmigration is related to reincarnation as it is "the movement of a soul into another body after death," but the only thing that I could tie to mortuary themes here were all the dark hues in the ingredients.  Instead, the drink is probably named after the Milk & Honey drink called Migration that is equal parts of all the ingredients above save for no coffee liqueur. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a coffee-driven Palm Viper especially given the two rums, and the rum, coffee, sweet vermouth, and Cynar stylings appeared before in the Belafonte. Once mixed, the Transmigration gave forth orange, coffee, and molasses aromas to the nose. Next, grape, caramel, and roast notes on the sip shifted into dark rum, molasses, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

oh, barnacles!

1 1/2 oz Brugal 1888 Rum (Don Q Añejo)
1/2 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum (Don Q Spiced)
1/2 oz Lost Spirits Navy Rum (Planteray Mr. Fogg No. 1)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Clement Creole Shrubb (Bauchant)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Crude Attawanhood #37 Bitters (King Floyd's Cherry-Cacao)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a sea-themed mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon (freshly grated cinnamon and a cinnamon stick). The Crude Bitters are aromatic bitters featuring cherry, clove, and cinnamon. Two Sundays ago, I was in a tropical drinks mood and decided to make a recipe that I had spotted a few weeks prior on Instagram called Oh, Barnacles! by Todd Yard on his Concoctails account. Todd named this after a swear on the SpongeBob SquarePants television series that he heard his daughter say. The Cynar and falernum duo here caught my eye for they have paired well in drinks like The Brooks and Commercial Free, and I utilized them in the Home Drum, a stirred drink inspired by The Brooks and the Corn'n'Oil. In the oceanic mug, the Oh, Barnacles! gave forth a cinnamon and caramel aroma. Next, caramel, lemon, and orange notes on the sip submerged into rum, herbal, orange, clove, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

the whole spectrum

1 oz Cynar
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/4 oz Lemon Juice

4 dash Fee's Peach Bitters
1 pinch Salt (4 drop 20% Saline)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist. One of the drinks that I spotted in Shawn Soole's Great Northern Cocktails book when I made The Kipling Cocktail instead was The Whole Spectrum by Kyle Guilfoyle at the Nimble Bar Company in Victoria, British Columbia. The Cynar, big cube, touch of lemon juice, and pinch of salt made me think of the Little Giuseppe, except the pinch of salt was incorporated in the stir and not placed on top of the ice cube to integrate over time to modulate the bitterness quotient. In addition, the equal parts Campari and Cynar with something smoky was seen in the Devotion & Desire, so I was curious to see it here with Scotch instead of mezcal. Once mixed, The Whole Spectrum offered up a lemon and peat smoke aroma. Next, a caramel-driven sip from the Cynar opened into smoky whisky, herbal, bitter orange, savory, and peach flavors on the swallow.

luca brazi

1 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Campari
1/3 oz Cynar
5 drop Bittermens Mole Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Two Tuesdays prior, I sought out my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and landed on the Luca Brazi in the Negroni section as crafted by Lorenzo Antinori at Bar Leone in Hong Kong circa 2023. I could not find any confirmation of the bar's spelling of the drink, but Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and the 1972 film based on it. Overall, the combination looked like a less intense version of The Last Mechanical Art, so I was intrigued. In the glass, the Luca Brazi ushered forth grapefruit, floral, vegetal, and peachy-orange aromas. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip developed into vegetal, orange, and peach flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish.

verrazano

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Cynar
1 tsp Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Verrazano by Leo Robetscheck at Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan. This one is different from the other Manhattan variation Verrazano on here which is much less bitter and closer to Julie Reiner's Slope. Once prepared, this Verrazano showcased a lemon and dark grape aroma. Next, the grape continued on into the sip where it mingled with caramel notes from the Cynar, and the swallow followed up with Bourbon, herbal, vegetal, and smoky flavors.

heart of stone

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
3/4 oz Cynar 70° Proof (Cynar, original 33° Proof)
6 drop Saline (20%)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed). Two Thursdays ago, I spotted the Heart of Stone on my Instagram feed attributed to Stuart Weaver, owner and general manager of Lady Jane in Denver. I tracked the drink down to a Bartender Magazine article that describes how this Cynar for Campari split base Boulevardier was developed on the fly mid-Pandemic. Overall, it reminded me on paper of the Last American Hero with Bourbon instead of rye and without bitters; I used to make the Last American Hero a bit when I worked at Drink where I described it as a gussied up Little Italy. In the glass, the Heart of Stone conjured an orange, caramel, vegetal, and smoke bouquet for the nose. Next, caramel, grape, and plum notes on the sip charged forth into sweet Bourbon meeting smoky, herbal bitter flavors on the swallow.